| Michele Tafoya Quick Info | |
|---|---|
| Height | 5 ft 6.5 in |
| Weight | 61 kg |
| Date of Birth | December 17, 1964 |
| Zodiac Sign | Sagittarius |
| Spouse | Mark Vandersall |
Michele Tafoya is an American sportscaster, radio show host, and former analyst, best known for her career with ABC Sports and ESPN, which spanned between January 2000 and May 2011. Most notably, she worked as a sideline reporter for ESPN’s Monday Night Football between 2004 and 2011 as well as NBA on ABC and NBA on ESPN sideline reporter between 20002 and 2008. On May 4, 2011, Michele left ESPN and ABC and replaced Andrea Kremer as NBC Sunday Night Football‘s sideline reporter, a position that gained her an even larger fanbase.
Born Name
Michele Joan Tafoya
Nick Name
Mickey Conley
Sun Sign
Sagittarius
Born Place
Manhattan Beach, California, United States
Residence
Edina, Minnesota, United States
Nationality
Education
Michele attended the University of California, Berkeley in Berkeley, California, United States, and earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in mass communications in 1988.
She then enrolled in the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, California, United States, where she earned her master’s degree in business administration in 1991.
Occupation
Sportscaster, Former Analyst, Radio Show Host
Family
- Father – Orlando Tafoya
- Mother – Wilma Conley Tafoya
- Others – Bruce Vandersall (Father-in-Law) (Former Linebackers Coach and Defensive Coordinator at the University of Minnesota), Kirsten Vandersall (Sister-in-Law) (Gymnast for Gophers)
Build
Slim
Height
5 ft 6.5 in or 169 cm
Weight
61 kg or 134.5 lbs
Boyfriend / Spouse
Michele Tafoya has dated –
- Mark Vandersall (1993-Present) – After 7 years of dating, Michele married a financial adviser and a big fan of Minnesota sports, Mark Vandersall on May 13, 2000. She changed her legal name to Michele Tafoya Vandersall but still remained known as Michele Tafoya to the public. In November 2005, the couple welcomed their 1st child, a son named Tyler Vandersall. As a newborn, Mark and Michele also adopted a daughter in 2009 and named her Olivia Vandersall.
Race / Ethnicity
White
Hair Color
Dark Brown
Eye Color
Dark Brown
Sexual Orientation
Straight
Michele Tafoya Facts
- At birth, her parents thought she would be born a boy and planned the name Michael John for her.
- She described herself as a “wanna-be-stoic”. Stoicism is a school of philosophy founded in Ancient Greece by a philosopher named Zeno of Citium.
- Michele once stated that she is not an “I am a woman, hear me roar” type of person. She is a professional above all and doesn’t consider herself a female reporter, just a reporter.
- Michele has credited Bob Costas, Jim Nantz, and Dan Patrick as the people she learned the most from.
- She has struggled with an eating disorder from an early age.
- Michele stated that aging on TV is hard, even for women but has given credits to her stylist for keeping her fresh and young. She still remained insecure about the way she looked on-air when people share video clips of her.
- Michele considers her biggest on-air mistake the one that happened early in her career, while she was with CBS Sports. During a national title game between Nebraska and Florida, she kept telling the story while Nebraska running back, Lawrence Phillips, “tore the field”. She had to be interrupted by Jim Nantz so that the commentary can be focused on the game.
- She stated that she wasn’t afraid to wear snow pants on-air during winter. Even though some people told her they look goofy, she wants to be warm and comfortable rather than suffer for fashion.
- She was ranked on top of the “Biggest Trend-Setter” list created by the Davie-Brown Index in 2006.
- In May 2019, Michele won her 3rd Emmy Award for “Outstanding Sports Personality”. As of that moment, she had 7 Emmy nominations in total and won those in 2012 and 2014.
- Michele’s life motto is “don’t let dishrags get you down”, which she learned from her husband. He calls small worries in life “dishrags” because they are annoying when thrown at you but aren’t harmful in the long term.
Featured Image by Michele Tafoya / Twitter
